System and method for processing media requests during telephony sessions

ABSTRACT

In a preferred embodiment, the method of caching media used in a telephony application includes: receiving a media request; sending the media request to a media layer using HTTP; the a media layer performing the steps of checking in a cache for the media resource; processing the media request within a media processing server; and storing the processed media in the cache as a telephony compatible resource specified by a persistent address. The system of the preferred embodiment includes a call router and a media layer composed of a cache and media processing server.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No.15/413,660, filed 24 Jan. 2017, which is a continuation of U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 15/050,268, filed 22 Feb. 2016, which is acontinuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 14/103,632, filed 11Dec. 2013, which is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No.12/568,646, filed 28 Sep. 2009, now issued as U.S. Pat. No. 8,611,338,which is a continuation-in-part of U.S. application Ser. No. 12/417,630,filed 2 Apr. 2009, now issued as U.S. Pat. No. 8,306,021, which claimsthe benefit of the following: U.S. Provisional Application No.61/041,829 filed 2 Apr. 2008; U.S. Provisional Application No.61/055,417 filed on 22 May 2008, U.S. Provisional Application No.61/100,578 filed on 26 Sep. 2008, U.S. Provisional Application No.61/156,746 filed on 2 Mar. 2009; and U.S. Provisional Application No.61/156,751 filed on 2 Mar. 2009.

Application Ser. No. 12/568,646 also claims the benefit of thefollowing: U.S. Provisional Application No. 61/100,627 filed on 26 Sep.2008 and U.S. Provisional Application No. 61/100,630 filed on 26 Sep.2008.

All of priority documents identified in this section are incorporated intheir entirety by this reference.

TECHNICAL FIELD

This invention relates generally to the telephony field, and morespecifically to a new and useful system and method for processing mediarequests during telephony sessions in the telephony field.

BACKGROUND

In the last decade, legislation and the advent of Voice over InternetProtocol (VOIP) have revolutionized the communication industry with newtechnologies, business models, and service providers. Software andcommodity hardware now provide an alternative to expensive carrierequipment. One can implement extensible call switching and voiceapplication logic in Open source software applications, such as Asteriskand FreeSwitch. These new application stacks, however, usher in newcomplexities and challenges, requiring new skill sets to deploy,develop, and maintain. Deploying telephony services requires knowledgeof voice networking and codecs, hardware or services to bridge serversto the public phone infrastructure, capital investment in hardware, andongoing collocation of that hardware. These burdens are a mereprerequisite to developing the actual application, which requiresdevelopers to train in new languages, tools, and developmentenvironments. Even telephony applications that currently try to leveragea model more similar to web-development such as Voice Extensible MarkupLanguage (VoiceXML), require the dedication to learn a new language andunderstand telephony interaction. Ongoing operation and maintenance ofthese services requires teams to adopt new analysis tools, performancemetrics, and debugging methodologies. Developing even the simplest ofvoice services (such as a so-called “phone tree”) requires significantupfront and ongoing investment in specialized infrastructure, skills,and operations.

In similar manner to how multimedia has impacted the advance of theInternet, interacting with media through telephony services is alsobecoming more important for telephony applications. However, mediaconsumption through an internet browser and a telephony device arecompletely different experiences, each having different userexpectations. Unlike websites, where users have been conditioned forloading times and processing time, phone users expect real-time resultsand often view processing delays as application annoyances. Internetmedia is inherently multimedia: a combination of text, images, video,audio, and other forms of multimedia. Telephony devices are limited inthe format of media consumable by a user. In the case of a typicalphone, audio with 8-bit PCM mono with 8 kHz bandwidth format is thenative form. Tremendous amounts of processing must be performed bytelephony applications to convert from internet media to telephonycompatible media. The processing increases infrastructure costs, slowsdown the responsiveness of a telephony application, and overall, limitsthe possibilities of telephony applications. The inefficiency of mediaprocessing impacts not only one telephony application but allapplications operating on a system. Thus, there is a need in thetelephony field to create a new and useful system and method forprocessing media requests during telephony sessions. This inventionprovides such a new and useful system and method.

SUMMARY

The method of the preferred embodiment for processing telephony sessionsinclude the steps of communicating with an application server using anapplication layer protocol, processing telephony instructions with acall router, and creating call router resources accessible through anApplication Programming Interface (API). The method and system of thepreferred embodiments enables web developers to use their existingskills and tools with the esoteric world of telephony, making telephonyapplication development as easy as web programming. The method andsystem use the familiar web site visitor model to interact with a webdeveloper's application, with each step of the phone call analogous to atraditional page view. Within this model, developers reuse theirexisting tools and techniques, including familiar concepts such as HTTPredirects, accessing resources through an API, cookies, and mime-typeresponses to construct complex telephony applications. The method ofprocessing telephony instructions and creating call router resourcesaccessible through an API (a call router API) cooperatively function toenable a stateless and simple telephony language with more call routerresources and information provided through the call router (preferably aREST API as is familiar to many web developers). In one embodiment, thetelephony instructions set may have fewer than dozen verbs, simplifyingthe language so that developers can quickly learn and implementtelephony applications, while the call router API compliments the simpletelephony instructions to enable complex telephony applications.

Within this framework for processing a telephony session, a method andsystem is described for caching media of the telephony session. Themethod and system include a cache and a media layer that cooperativelyworks to minimize processing and create telephony compatible media filesthat are cacheable. This method and system further enhances thedeveloper process by removing the complexities of telephone mediaformatting and creates an improved telephony application system.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES

FIG. 1 is a flowchart representation of a preferred method of theinvention.

FIGS. 2A, 2B, 3A and 3B are schematic representations of preferredembodiments of the invention.

FIGS. 4A-4C are examples of a HTTP GET request, a HTTP POST request, anda HTTP GET request, respectively.

FIGS. 4D-4F are examples of a HTTP requests.

FIGS. 5A and 5B are examples of XML responses.

FIG. 6 is an example of a call Router request and response.

FIGS. 7-9 are schematic representations of various applications thatincorporate the principals of the preferred method of the invention.

FIG. 10 is a flowchart representation of the sub-steps relating to thedigital signature aspect of the preferred method of the invention.

FIG. 11 is a schematic diagram of the preferred embodiment of theinvention.

FIG. 12 is a flowchart diagram of a preferred method.

FIG. 13 is a flowchart diagram of a first preferred variation of thepreferred method, including a Text-To-Speech audio conversion.

FIG. 14 is a flowchart diagram of a second preferred variation includingaudio transcoding.

FIG. 15 is a schematic diagram of the preferred embodiment interfacingwith a professional recording server.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

The following description of the preferred embodiments of the inventionis not intended to limit the invention to these preferred embodiments,but rather to enable any person skilled in the art to make and use thisinvention.

1. Method for Processing Telephony Sessions

As shown in FIGS. 1, 2A, 2B, 3A, and 3B, the method 10 of the preferredembodiment for processing telephony sessions include the steps ofcommunicating with an application server using an application layerprotocol S110, processing telephony instructions with a call routerS120, and creating call router resources accessible through anApplication Programming Interface (API) S130. The preferred method mayalso include other steps and/or sub-steps, as explained below.

1A. Communicating with an Application Server

As shown in FIG. 1, the step of communicating with an application serverusing an application layer protocol S110 preferably includes thefollowing sub-steps: initiating a telephony session S1, mapping a callto a Universal Resource Identifier (URI) S3, sending a request to aserver associated with the URI S5, processing the request correspondingto the state of a telephony session S7, and receiving a response fromthe server S9. One of the challenges of using the familiar web sitevisitor model is that a third party web application may expose URIs thatcontain sensitive data or that suggest actions that could maliciouslymanipulate the application database. In the preferred embodiment, thecall router cryptographically signs outbound requests to customer webapplications using an account-specific key. More specifically, the stepof communicating with the application server includes the additionalsteps of digitally signing the request parameters S4 and verifying thedigital signature of the request parameters S6. Only the call router andthe application server know that key, so any request that includesparameters (URL, POST data, headers, etc) signed with that key can bechecked for authenticity before allowing such operations. This methodalso provides verification of authenticity over insecure links (HTTP)with low CPU overhead.

Step S1, which recites initiating a telephony session, functions toaccept an incoming message. The message is preferably a call from aPSTN-connected (Public Switched Telephone Network) or Internetaddressable devices, such as landline phones, cellular phones, satellitephones, Voice-Over-Internet-Protocol (VOIP) phones, SIP devices, Skype,Gtalk, or any other suitable PSTN-connected or Internet addressablevoice device. The message may alternatively be a Short Message Service(SMS) message. A SMS gateway server may alternatively connect to a SMSnetwork through a Short Message Service Center (“SMS-C”), directly tothe Signaling System #7 (SS7) telephony network, or by any othersuitable SMS gateway provider, and the message is preferably receivedfrom the gateway by the call router and translated into a format (suchas a URI) that can be sent over the public Internet such as HTTP, basedon the recipient address of the SMS, such as a short code, or DirectInward Dialing (DID), or other suitable unique recipient identifier. Themessage may alternatively be a multimedia message, a facsimiletransmission, an email, or any other suitable messaging medium. Theoriginating phone number of the PSTN device is preferably captured usingcaller ID, but any other suitable ID may be captured, such as a VOIPprovider ID, SMS device number, email address, or a short code. Thedialed phone number, the EIN, and/or billing identifier, and/or the dateand time of the call are also preferably included in the sessioninformation. An authentication ID may additionally or alternatively beincluded in the session information.

In one variation, Step S1 also functions to initiate a telephony session(such as a phone call) via an HTTP or other request sent to a callrouter from an application running on a third-party server. In thisvariation, the application running on the server preferably specifies aninitial URI for the call router to use for telephony session in step S3,as well as the phone number (or other addressable destination) to dialand the source phone number (caller id). In this variation, the callrouter API is preferably used by the application server to request anoutgoing call from the call router.

Step S3, which recites mapping the call to a Universal ResourceIdentifier (URI), functions to enable a telephony session to beconverted into a format that may be handled with standard web serversand web applications. The mapping is preferably performed using a callrouter. The initial URI is preferably pre-specified at the call routerby a web application (which may be running on a third party server) orcall router account owner. More preferably, the initial URI is assignedto the call via a unique identifier for the call destination, such as aDID (Direct Inbound Dial) phone number, or a VOIP SIP address. The URImay alternatively be specified by a remote server or other suitabledevice or method. In one variation, the URI may be used to encapsulatestate information or a portion of state information from the initiatedtelephony session, such as the originating phone number, the dialedphone number, the date and time of the call, geographic location of thecaller (e.g. country, city, state, and/or zip), and/or the unique callID. The information included in the URI may be included in the form of aURI template. For example the URI default template could be:http://demo.twilio.com/myapp/{dialed phone number}/{originating phonenumber} or http://demo.twilio.com/myapp/foo.php?dialed_number={dialedphone number}& originating_number={originating phone number}.

Step S4 functions to digitally sign the request parameters. As shown inFIG. 10, Step S4 preferably determines the call router account ownerand, more preferably, looks up the account owner's unique ID or secretkey and signs a set of request parameters. Step S4 is preferablyaccomplished by generating a cryptographic hash of the requestparameters, preferably including the URI as well as any request bodyparameters (in the case of an HTTP POST, for example) with the uniquekey associated with the call router account owner. The cryptographichash is preferably generated by appending the hash of the requestparameters to the original set of request parameters. The hash ispreferably appended to a URL, but if the hash is particularly long (i.e.for a very large number of parameters) the hash may be included in anHTTP header, where there is no limitation on size. In a variation ofStep S4, at least one sensitive parameter may be individually encryptedusing the account owner's secret key before the hash is processed. Inanother variation, a cryptographic credential delegation system, such asOauth (oauth.net), may alternatively be used to electronically sign therequest.

Step S5 functions to send the request to a server. Preferably, therequest is sent to a URI and, more preferably, the request is sent tothe URI mapped in S3. The request preferably includes a cryptographichash computed from the set of request parameters (acting as a digitalsignature), but the request may alternatively include individuallyencrypted request parameters if the parameters are determined to containsensitive data. The server is preferably a third party server and, morepreferably, the server is running a web application. The request ispreferably sent to a server over a network. In one variation, therequest is sent to a local server on a local area network. In anothervariation, the request is sent to a server running locally on the deviceoriginating the call. In yet another variation, the request may be sentto multiple servers. The request preferably encapsulates at least aportion of the state information from the initiated telephony session,such as the originating phone number, the dialed phone number, the dateand time of the call, geographic location of the caller (e.g. country,city, and/or state, zip), and/or the unique call ID. The request, morepreferably, encapsulates all the state information of the call, but mayalternatively include no state information or partial state information.The state information from the initiated telephony session is preferablysent via HTTP POST in the request body, HTTP GET in the request URI,HTTP header parameters to mimic the data flow of a web browser, or byany combination or suitable alternative way. If new state information isgenerated in the course of the operation of the call router, a requestto the application server is preferably made to communicate the newstate and to request new telephony instructions. Preferably, new stateinformation is not kept or acted upon internally by the call router, butis passed to the application server for processing. Alternatively,partial state information is preferably stored on the call router untila fully updated state is achieved, and then communicated to theapplication server. For example, the application server may specify thatmultiple digits should be pressed on the keypad, not just one, beforenew call state is derived and communicated to the application server. Inone variation, the information from the initiated telephone session maybe a web-form submission included in the HTTP POST request. The requestmay include any state information from the telephony session, such asthe originating phone number, the dialed phone number, the date and timeof the call, and/or the unique call ID, the current status of the phonecall (pending, in-progress, completed, etc.), or the results of atelephony action, including Dual Tone Multi Frequency (DTMF) digitprocessing, or a representation of or a link to a sound recording, orthe status of the last command, or other call state. Examples of a HTTPGET request, a HTTP POST request, and a HTTP GET request are shown inFIGS. 4A, 4B, and 4C, respectively. Further examples of HTTPcommunication used for SMS messaging are shown in FIGS. 4D, 4E, and 4F.The HTTP request (or any suitable request communication) to the serverpreferably observes the principles of a RESTful design. RESTful isunderstood in this document to describe a Representational StateTransfer architecture as is known in the art. The RESTful HTTP requestsare preferably stateless, thus each message communicated from the callrouter to the application server preferably contains all necessaryinformation for operation of the application server and responsegeneration of the application server. The call router and/or theapplication server preferably do not need to remember or store previouscommunications to be aware of the state. Documents, media, andapplication state are preferably viewed as addressable resources,combined with data provide to the resource via request parameter, suchas HTTP GET or HTTP POST parameters, or request body contents. Suchrequest data may include an updated representation of the call resource,or other call state data generated as a result of call router operation,such as digits pressed on the keypad or audio recordings generated.State information included with each request may include a unique callidentifier, call status data such as whether the call is in-progress orcompleted, the caller ID of the caller, the phone number called,geographic data about the callers, and/or any suitable data. However, avarying level of a RESTful communication (statelessness) may be used,such as by using cookies, session tracking, or any suitable devices tosimulate a normal website visitor model. Preferably, data sent with eachrequest may fully enable the application server to determine the nextstate of the call to execute. RESTfulness preferably does not precludeusing external datasource, such as a database, to lookup additional datato log call meta data, or determine application logic.

Step S6 functions to verify the digital signature of the requestparameters. As shown in FIG. 7, after the request is received at theserver, the request parameters are preferably checked and/or parsed fora hash. The cryptographic hash is preferably included in the URL of anHTTP request, but may alternatively be included in the HTTP header ofthe request. If the request does not include a hash, and the webapplication server has enabled the hash function checking as a securitymeasure, the request is preferably determined to be fraudulent, whichwould include—for example—malicious requests, mis-routed requests,corrupted requests and any other requests not intended for theapplication server. If the set of request parameters includes a hash,the hash is preferably extracted from the request, and the secret key ofthe customer web application (i.e. the same key that is stored on thecall router as the customer account secret key) is preferably used togenerate a server side cryptographic hash of the parameters received.The server side cryptographic hash is preferably compared to the hashincluded with the request and if the hashes do not match, the request ispreferably determined to be fraudulent. However, if the server sidecryptographic hash matches the request hash, the request is preferablydetermined to be authentic and ready for further processing at theapplication server. In the variation mentioned above in Step S4, wheresensitive parameters may have been encrypted using the secret key, StepS6 preferably includes decrypting the sensitive parameters. Theapplication server and the third parties operating the application arepreferably responsible for completing this verification step, but theverification may alternatively be completed by a single party, such aswhen a single party operates the application server and the call router.The application server may alternatively be configured to ignore a hashincluded with the request parameters if request authentication is notimportant to the application.

Step S7, which recites processing the request corresponding to the stateof a telephony session, functions to perform processing functions on atleast a portion of the data included in the request. The processingfunctions are preferably performed on a third party server. Theprocessing functions may include recording the data included in therequest and/or metadata about the call session, routing to another URI,performing a database lookup of at least one portion of the dataincluded in the request, voice recognition processing, or any othersuitable processing function. The processing functions may re-use logicand data from other business applications, such as customer databasesand/or shopping cart applications, which may be linked using caller-idor caller provided information. State information is preferablycommunicated with each request from the call router, and applicationstate is preferably not required on the application server.Alternatively, the application server may store state between eachrequest related to the call, by using HTTP cookies, sessions, and/ordatabase records. In some cases, such as the case of a static HTML pagerunning on a server or a stored media file such as an mp3 or wav filestored on a server, Step S7 may be simplified, and a file mapped to diskby the URI may be simply returned. In some situations, media files (suchas an mp3 or wav audio file), are requested by the call router andreturned by the application server.

Step S9 recites receiving a response from the server. This response ispreferably an HTTP response. The response is preferably sent as XML,audio binary, or raw text, but may alternatively be any sort ofmessaging format, including HTML, delimited text, key/value text orbinary encoded format. The HTTP response preferably includes directionsto perform telephony actions. The response may alternatively oradditionally include a new URI or a new URI template to use with thetelephony action in Step S3. An additional example XML response is shownin FIGS. 5A and 5B. Additionally, the response preferably passes througha media layer. The media layer preferably performs any necessary cachingand/or processing on returned media files and/or instructions to createa telephony compatible media file. The operation of the media layer ispreferably transparent to the call router such that the media layerprovides properly formatted media to the call router preferably withoutthe call router being aware of the media conversion. The method ofcaching media during a telephony session is further described below.

1B. Processing Telephone Instructions

The step of processing telephone instructions with a call router S120preferably functions to convert the server response into telephonyactions or executable operations during a telephony session. Thetelephony actions may include, for example, playing a pre-recorded soundfile at a server-specified URI (such as a static mp3 file located athttp://demo.twilio.com/myapp/1234.mp3), reading text to the caller usingtext-to-speech technology, calling another number (such as creating anew voice connection through the PSTN, SIP/VoIP, or other IP technologysystem), collecting digits via DTMF input, recording voice responseaudio, TTY or other inputs, sending an SMS message, or any suitablecombination or sequence of these or other suitable actions. Thisconversion of the server response is preferably performed at a callrouter. Preferably, Step S120 includes processing the responsemime-types associated with the server response. For example, if theresponse mime-type is XML, it is considered to be a set of call routerinstructions. If the response mime-type is MP3, it is considered a soundfile to be played for the caller. If the response type is plain text, itis considered to be text to be read, via Text-To-Speech, to the caller.Response mime-types associated with media handling are preferably passedthrough the media layer, and may be modified, processed, or createdwithin the media layer. In the case where call router instructionincludes playing a media file from an external server, the call routerpreferably sends the appropriate HTTP or HTTPS request to the externalserver. This request is preferably passed through the media layer. Themedia layer either completes the request by fetching the media file andperforming any necessary media processing or the media file mayalternatively be cached, in which case the media layer returns the apre-processed, cached version of the media file. Response mime-typesthat involve the generation of media such as Text-To-Speechinstructions, are additionally handled by the media layer. The medialayer preferably handles the querying a cache, generating the necessarymedia, and/or caching the media.

Contents of the server response, such as an XML document, are preferablyconverted into a telephony action by processing the documentsequentially (e.g. line by line). Telephony instructions are preferablycontained within the document in the form of a markup language, such asXML as shown in FIGS. 5A and 5B. This sequential approach to processinga document of telephony instructions is enabled when the communicationis stateless and all the necessary information is contained within theURI. This stateless communication preferably allows telephonyinstructions (verbs or commands) to be used as the programming interfacefor a server application performing telephony services. Algorithmicinterpretation (based on the state of the communication) of thetelephony verbs or the document is preferably not necessary. Thetelephony actions are preferably executed in the order of telephonyinstructions found in the contents of the server response. For example,an XML document may include the necessary verbs to carry out thetelephony actions of reading text to a caller, monitoring keys pressedby the caller, and redirecting the caller to a new URI using the pressedkeys as part of the data within the new URI. Preferably, the telephonyaction (such as digits pressed) results in new state information, whichmay result in a repetition of some steps of the method, preferablybeginning at Steps S3. The next URI is preferably provided by the serveras part of the processing instructions. In another variation, the lastURI is reused if the server fails to specify a next URI. In yet anothervariation, no repetition occurs if the server fails to specify a nextURI, and processing continues below at the next call router instruction.The behavior may be determined by the nature of the call routerinstruction; for example, instructions that generate no new stateinformation would not need to have a next URI since they don't triggercommunication with a remote server. More preferably, the telephonyactions result in the repetition of step S3 with the new URI resultingfrom Step S11, but may alternatively initiate a repetition of one ormore steps (Steps S5, S7, S9, or S11) of the method. Step S3 ispreferably repeated using all new phone session state informationresulting from execution of a telephony action, such as digits pressed,a recorded audio file, or the success or failure of any telephony actionrequested. Repetition also includes all state information that remainsrelevant during the course of the session, such as Caller, Called,unique Call ID, and call status. The state information may also berepresented in the form of a URI Template. For example, if the serverresponse specifies that the call router should collect DTMF digits, andspecifies that the next URL is the URI Templatehttp://demo.twilio.com/foo.php?digits={Digits}, and the caller presses1234, the resulting URI is http://demo.twilio.com/foo.php?digits=1234.Similarly, if the server response specifies the URI Template:http://demo.twilio.com/myapp/{Digits}.mp3, the resulting HTTP Requestcould be to a static mp3 file located at:http://demo.twilio.com/myapp/1234.mp3. Thus, a call may be controlled byone server that issued the telephony instruction and a second serverthat processes the response, as shown in FIGS. 7 and 8. Such callcontrol hand-offs constitute the transfer of state information betweenservers in the form of a URI and accompanying request data, such as GET,POST, and/or request body. Preferably, all state communications conformto a syntax established by the call router to facilitate integrationbetween multiple servers. For example, digits pressed on the keypad arepreferably communicated to application servers in an identical fashion,thus minimizing the need for coordination between a multiple applicationservers with regard to how state is transferred. Alternatively, callrouter instructions may dictate the method of communicating new stateinformation, such as the names and types of variables to sendrepresenting new state.

1C. Creating Resources Accessible by a Call Router API

The step of creating call router resources accessible through anApplication Programming Interface (API) S130 preferably functions toexpose information and/or functionality of the call router. Theinteraction from outside parties is preferably performed via the API(call router API). The Call Router API may additionally cooperate withthe use of telephony instructions to function as a storage and retrievalformat for data generated or required by the call router's operation.The Call Router API is preferably an application programming interface(API) such as a REST API (Representational State Transfer) as is knownin the art, but the Call Router API may alternatively be a SOAP (SimpleObject Access Protocol) API or any suitable programmatic communicationinterface. The Call Router API preferably may be used by an applicationasynchronously to the execution of a call (such as to later query thecall records or retrieve recordings). Alternatively, the Call Router APImay be used synchronously during the course of a call (such as to alterthe state of the call, hanging up a call, initiating call recording,etc.). The Call Router API preferably stores state information in apersistent URI for a resource. The persistent URI preferably containsall the necessary state information, and this preferably makes datapersistent, queryable, and recoverable. The Call Router API ispreferably used for modifying resources to alter state of call routerand for interacting with media of the call router. An application servercan use the Call Router API to preferably query meta-data of callrecords, caller identification, call media (such as recordings, texttranscripts, etc.), account information, transfer or interact within-progress communications in the call router, and/or any suitable datagenerated by or required to operate the call router. The Call Router APIpreferably involves communication between an application server and acall router, but may alternatively be communication from any suitabledevice to the call router. The Call Router API preferably resides on thesame hardware as the call router, but may alternatively reside on remotehardware or on any suitable hardware environment. The communication ispreferably HTTP, but alternatively HTTPS or any suitable communicationprotocol may be used. The Call Router API may additionally be compatiblewith any HTTP client. The telephony system of the preferred embodimentpreferably implements a Call Router API that includes a Call Router APIrequest format, a Call Router API response format, and a plurality ofAPI Resources representing types of data generated by or used by theCall Router.

The Call Router API request of the preferred embodiment functions as acommunication message sent from an application server to an API resourceof the call router. The Call Router API request is preferably sent froman application server to a call router, but may be sent from anysuitable device to the call router. The Call Router API request ispreferably similar to a REST API request, but the Call Router APIrequest may alternatively conform to any suitable programming principle,such as SOAP. The Call Router API request preferably uses HTTP tointerface with a resource, but HTTPS or any suitable communicationprotocol may be used. Preferably the HTTP or HTTPS method of GET is usedto retrieve a resource or resource information, and the HTTP or HTTPSmethod of PUT or POST is used to create or update a resource. In somecases, PUT or POST may be used to affect the functionality of the callrouter by modifying the state of a resource. Alternatively, a methodparameter may be included in the URI of the resource to identify arequested action for the resource, or any suitable commands or methodsmay be used to interface with an API resource. The Call Router APIrequest preferably includes authentication such as basic HTTP or HTTPSauthentication, by including message authentication information in theURI, such as a cryptographic hashing of the request content using ashared key, or by any suitable method.

The Call Router API response of the preferred embodiment functions as acommunication sent in response to a method performed on an API resource.The Call Router API response is preferably sent from the call router toan application server, or any suitable device. The Call Router APIresponse is preferably sent in response to a Call Router API request,and the response is preferably sent to the originating device. The CallRouter API response is preferably similar to a REST API response, wherethe response is a representation of the requested resource. The CallRouter API response may alternatively conform to any suitableprogramming principle such as SOAP. The Call Router API response ispreferably returned as formatted XML with information corresponding tothe HTTP status code, a message, error codes, and/or any suitableinformation related to the resource. The Call router API response mayalternatively be represented as Comma-separated values list (CSVs),HTML, JSON, or any suitable format. In one variation, the responseformat is determined by a portion of the requested URI, such as a fileextension. In one variation, an API resource may be a binary dataresource, and the Call Router API response is preferably formatted in anative binary format (e.g., a wav or mp3 audio file), an XML meta-datadescription, and or any suitable format.

The API resource of the preferred embodiment functions as an addressablerepresentation of call router meta-data, internal call router state, orthe state of a given resource used by the call router. An API resourceis preferably addressed by a persistent URI. Preferably, the APIresource responds to at least one HTTP action of POST, PUT, GET, orDELETE. The API resource may alternatively respond to multiple HTTPactions. The API resource may alternatively respond to any suitablemethod(s) that are preferably included in the Call Router API request.Consistent with the RESTful conventions, a GET request of a resource mayreturn the current state of a resource, while PUT may update the state,PUT or POST may be used to create a new resource, and DELETE may be usedto destroy a resource. The call router API may alternatively be used toaffect the functionality of an in-progress call in addition to modifyingdata. The API resources of the preferred embodiment include an accountresource, caller ID resource, incoming address resource, call resource,media resource, and/or any suitable resource of the call router. The APIresources may alternatively be any suitable combination of the listedresources or other suitable resources. An API resource is preferably apreconfigured (or “static”) resource, such as account information, or aresource actively in use by the call router, such as a phone call.Modifying the state of a resource via the API may additionally affectthe operation of the call router in real-time, affect the state orcapabilities of the call router in the future, and/or have any suitableeffect.

The account resource of the preferred embodiment functions to allow anapplication to retrieve and/or modify account information. An account ispreferably created by a telephony service provider, such as the operatorof the call router. Information such as account name, usage information,contact information, initial URI, setup parameters, or any suitableaccount information may be retrieved or edited by an application usingthe account resource.

The caller ID resource of the preferred embodiment functions to allow anapplication to retrieve, modify, register new caller ID's (phonenumbers), and/or delete caller identification information. The calleridentification information is preferably for the phone number associatedwith out-going calls made by an application and/or user (i.e. where theapplication appears to be calling from). The numbers for outgoing callsare preferably assigned or verified prior to being used as a caller ID.As an alternative, to prevent fraudulent use of caller ID phone numbersin applications, a verification step may be used by the API beforeadding a new caller ID resource. A request to add a caller ID may beinitiated via a request to the API, wherein a random validation code isgenerated and returned in the API response. The validation code ispreferably provided to an end user. A phone call is placed to the givenphone number (caller ID), requesting that the validation code be enteredvia keypad digits or spoken. Entry of the validation code verifiespossession of the phone number, or the device associated with the phonenumber, at the time of the request. Use of the caller ID resource mayadditionally be presented in a user interface, such as a web browser, bydisplaying the verification code. User interface may be provided by theoperator of the call router, or may be provided by any suitableapplication using the API. Any suitable method may also be used forverification of a caller ID. In another alternative, where multipleparties are involved in a call, the caller ID of one of the existingparty members may be assigned for additional outgoing calls during thatcall session.

The incoming address resource of the preferred embodiment functions toallow an application to get, modify, or provision new inbound DID phonenumbers, SMS short codes, SIP Addresses, etc. for use with applications.PUT or POST may be used to set the initial URI associated with theinbound address. DELETE may be used to release the resource. Theincoming address resource may be used for real-time provisioning ofphone numbers or other addressable inbound identifiers.

The call resource of the preferred embodiment functions to allow anapplication to get or modify the state of a telephony session in thecall router. A telephony session or call may be in-progress, completed,failed, not yet initiated, and/or in any suitable call status. A callresource can preferably change the state or connection of an in-progresscall. State changes preferably include: hanging up or terminatingexisting telephony sessions, transferring one or more existing telephonysessions from one contextual group of sessions to another, merging orsplitting an existing group telephony sessions, transferring one or moretelephony sessions from one communications medium to another (such asfrom one URI to a second URI), injecting an event or notification into aexisting session or group of sessions, recording or ceasing to recordthe audio from one or more parties on a call, and/or any suitable callaction. Call information or call log data can preferably be retrieved bysending a GET to the call resource or by alternatively sending anysuitable method. Outgoing calls may also be initiated by using a POST orany suitable method that preferably indicates that a new call resourceis to be created. When using the call resource to initiate a call,information may be provided as required to place a phone call, such as acaller ID to present, a phone number to call, and/or a URI to handle thecall, but alternatively any suitable information may be provided. A callinstruction XML document may alternatively be provided to the APIinstead of a URI, which is to be used for call instructions. The CallRouter API may additionally respond with the status of a call such as ifthe call is answered, if a machine answered the phone, busy signal, noanswer, call failure, and/or any suitable call status. The response mayalternatively indicate that the new call request was accepted, but hasnot yet been initiated. In the example shown in FIG. 6, callerinformation and caller ID are included in a POST request to the callresource. This step would initiate an outgoing call to the phone numberdesignated in the caller information. The Call Router API responseincludes available state information regarding the call, such as whetherthe call has commenced yet, the call start time, end time, price, callerinfo, and the Call Router API response could alternatively include anysuitable information. Additionally, information about the call returnedat any point by the API may depend on the status of the call. Forexample, a call start time would not be given if the call has not yetbegun, or the call end time, duration or price would not be given if thecall had not yet ended.

Additionally or alternatively, the call resource of the preferredembodiment may be used to transfer a call to a new URI by a single callresource receiving a POST, PUT, and/or any suitable method. In thisalternative, a call is preferably transferred to the new URI for newcall instructions. The API may preferably be used to issue asynchronouschanges in call state, unlike the synchronous communication between thecall router and application server for synchronous URI requests andresponses. The call resource, in this alternative, functions to allow acall to be asynchronously directed to URIs. Examples of variousapplications of the call resource include initiating a new telephonysession, terminating an existing telephony session, call waiting, callholding, call queuing, call parking, private call sessions within aconference, carry on multiple call sessions, and/or any suitableapplication. Any situation where asynchronous events affect the callstatus, such as a call agent becoming available, or a person returningto the phone after placing a caller on hold. The currently executingcall router instruction may be allowed to complete, or may beimmediately terminated, before requesting the provided URI. New callstate resulting from the last call instruction executed by the callrouter, such as digits pressed on the keypad or audio recorded from thecaller, may be provided to the new URI in a form POST or GET parameters,or may alternatively be discarded by the call router and not provided.As shown in FIG. 9, call waiting may be implemented by an applicationsending a Call Router API request to the call resource that POSTs a newURI for the call. The caller is then directed to the new URI forinstructions. A second Call Router API request is sent to the callresource that POSTs the original URI for the call, and thus brings thecaller back to the first call session. The call resource mayalternatively be used in any suitable application.

As an alternative embodiment of the call resource, a calls resource mayimplement a plurality of individual calls as distinct subresources. Forexample, a URI ending in “/Calls” may be a list of many calls performedby the account, and a URI ending in “/Calls/12345” may represent onespecific call, uniquely identified by the key “12345”. The callsresource preferably allows retrieval of many call records and/orcreating new calls, while a single-call resource represents a singlecall. The calls resource preferably accepts a request to create a newcall resource, as is common in RESTful architectures, which in the CallRouter API, preferably serves to initiate one or more new calls. A callsresource may be used to both list current and previous calls using theGET method, as well as initiate a new outbound call using the POSTmethod. Using RESTful principles such as POST or PUT to alter the stateof an individual call resource can preferably change the state of anin-progress call, affecting the realtime activities of the call, such asby hanging up, transferring control to a new URI, joining the call withanother call, or any suitable telephony action.

The media resource of the preferred embodiment functions to allow anapplication to retrieve and/or access information of media stored,cached, created, and/or used during a call. In one variation, the mediaresource is preferably a recording resource to access information andrecordings made during a call via recording call instructions, orasynchronously via the Call Router API. In another variation, the mediaresource may alternatively include call transcripts, text messages, keypress logs, faxes, a binary-coded resource, and/or any suitable media.The media resource may alternatively include a URI of the binary-codedfile (such as a wav, mp3 audio file or PDF document file). In onevariation, the media resources may additionally be integrated with thetelephony instructions (or markup language) such that a telephonyinstruction may instruct the call router to perform an action thatcreates a media resource. The call router preferably sends a response tothe application server with the URI of the created media resource. Forexample, when the call router is instructed to record a message, thecall router preferably sends a response to the application server with aunique URI of the recorded message within the API. The media URIpreferably responds to GET requests to return the media in a number offormats, such as binary or XML meta-data representations. The mediaresource may accept requests to delete a media resource. In onevariation, the media resource preferably requires authentication toaccess the resource. In another variation, the media resource may notrequire authentication to enable URI embedding in a variety ofapplications, without exposing authentication credentials. In yetanother variation, authentication is preferably performed viacryptographic hashing, such that credentials are not exposed to clientapplications that consume the media resources. In another variation, themedia resource allows the initiation of transcription of audio resourcesto text using transcription technology. The audio resource used fortranscription is preferably generated during telephony sessions (such asby using the record instruction) and hosted on the Call Router API. Themedia resource preferably allows retrieving or deletion of audiotranscriptions generated from recorded media. The media resource mayadditionally allow centralized hosting of media files, and the resourceURIs are preferably exchanged between the call router and theapplication server, instead of the large media files themselves. Themedia resource may alternatively be used for any suitable media.

Additionally or alternatively, a join resource of the preferredembodiment may be used to join one or calls into a shared session thatallows the parties to communicate (i.e., a conference) by a single callresource receiving a POST, PUT, and/or any suitable method. In thisalternative, one or more calls are preferably join together such thatthey are in a conference. The join resource may alternatively be asubresource or part of the call resource.

Additionally or alternatively, a split resource of the preferredembodiment may be used to split shared sessions (e.g., a conference)into individual call sessions by a single call resource receiving aPOST, PUT, and/or any suitable method. In this alternative, one or moreshared sessions involving two or more calls are preferably split suchthat one or more calls are split into separate calls or into on or moreseparate conferences. The split resource may alternatively be asubresource or part of the call resource.

2. Method of Caching Media for Use in a Telephony Session

As shown in FIGS. 12-14, the method 20 of the preferred embodiment forprocessing media includes mapping a telephony media request to aresource address S220, sending the request to a cache server S230,forwarding the request to a media processing server S240, and cachingresponses S250. The method functions to generate telephony compatiblemedia resources for improved efficiency. In one application, the methodis preferably implemented during a telephony session, and is morepreferably implemented during a telephony session established using themethod 10 for processing telephony sessions. In this variation, themethod 20 preferably includes the additional steps of initiating atelephony session S210, and after caching the response, sending theresponse to a call router S260, where the call router preferablyexecutes the media resource. In another variation, the method isimplemented with media layer API interaction. The media layer APIpreferably provides media layer control beyond normal capabilities (suchas those possible by HTTP caching directives). Third party servers orapplications preferably use the media layer API, but alternatively thecall router may use the media layer API. This variation may beimplemented outside of a telephony session or during a telephonysession. The method 20 functions to handle call flows from a call routerand uses a media layer to streamline network traffic and transparentlyhandle aspects of application specific processing. The method preferablyuses less bandwidth and stores the results of computationally intensiveoperations and/or large network transmissions to improve the perceivedresponsiveness of telephony systems to callers. The method additionallylowers the cost of service by enabling a larger volume of calls to behandled using the same CPU and network resources. The method 20preferably utilizes a HTTP media transport protocol for the services ofthe media layer. HTTP is preferably used for external communication andfor internal communication of the media layer. This allows the physicalsystems of the media layer (e.g., transcoding proxy servers,text-to-speech servers, encryption servers, etc.) to be distributedacross different network-isolated systems and to be scaledindependently. The use of the HTTP protocol additional enables thedynamic and automatic scaling of resources within the media layer.Systems of the media layer such as caches, text-to-speech servers,transcoding proxy servers, or other media processing servers may all beautomatically load balanced independently of other systems.

Step S210, which recites initiating a telephony session, functions toaccept an incoming call. The call preferably originates fromPSTN-connected (Public Switched Telephone Network) or Internetaddressable devices, such as landline phones, cellular phones, satellitephones, Voice-Over-Internet-Protocol (VOIP) phones, SIP devices, Skype,Gtalk, or any other suitable PSTN-connected or Internet addressablevoice device. The originating phone number of the PSTN device ispreferably captured using caller ID, but any other suitable ID may becaptured, such as a VOIP provider ID. The dialed phone number and/or thedate and time of the call are also preferably included in the sessioninformation. An authentication ID may additionally or alternatively beincluded in the session information. Step S210 is preferablysubstantially similar to Step S1 of method 10 for processing telephonysessions.

In one preferred variation of the invention, Step S210 functions toinitiate a telephony session (such as a phone call) via an HTTP or otherrequest sent to a call router from an application running on athird-party server. In this variation, the application running on theserver preferably specifies an initial URI of an application server forthe call router to use for the telephony session as well as the phonenumber (or other addressable destination) to dial, geographicinformation and the source phone number (caller id).

Step S220, which recites mapping a telephony media request to a resourceaddress functions to convert a telephony session into a format that maybe handled with standard web servers and web applications. The telephonymedia request is preferably received during a telephony session, but mayalternatively be received from the media layer API when a telephonysession is not established. A call router may preferably receive themedia request or alternatively the media layer API may receive therequest. Additionally a call router may initiate the media request anduse the media layer API to interface with the media layer. The telephonysession is preferably mapped to a Universal Resource Identifier (URI),but any suitable resource addressing protocol may be used. Step S220 ispreferably substantially similar to Step S3 of the method 10 forprocessing telephony sessions. Preferably, the mapping and/or conversionare performed using a call router. The initial address or URI ispreferably pre-specified at the call router by a web application (whichmay be running on a third party server) or call router account owner.More preferably, the initial URI is assigned to the call via a uniqueidentifier for the call destination, such as a DID (Direct Inbound Dial)phone number, or a VOIP SIP address. In another preferred embodiment,the URI is specified by a remote server. Alternatively, the media layerAPI may specify the resource address using any suitable interface, butthe media layer API is preferably a REST API. The URI may encapsulate atleast a portion of the state information from the initiated telephonysession, such as the originating phone number, the dialed phone number,the date and time of the call, geographic location of the caller (e.g.country, city, and/or state, zip), and/or the unique call ID. The URI ispreferably associated with a media resource such as a media filelocation or a location of a media processor or generator. The URI mayadditionally include media parameters. The media parameters arepreferably used in the processing or generation of a media file. Theparameters may additionally or alternatively be embedded in the headeror body of an HTTP message. The information included in the URI may beincluded in the form of a URI template. For example the URI defaulttemplate could be:

-   -   http://demo.twilio.com/myapp/{dialed phone number}/{originating        phone number} or    -   http://demo.twilio.com/myapp/foo.php?dialed_number={dialed phone        number}& originating_number={originating phone number}

In one variation, the request is preferably made via a secure protocol,such as HTTPS. The HTTP header containing the request preferablyincludes an SSL header, indicating the final forwarding of the requestto the URI is to be performed using SSL (HTTPS authenticated requests).This adds an additional layer of security to the application server,protecting valuable content from being accessible, protecting privacy ofall communicating parties, and protecting the application server frommalicious activity while allowing internal components, such as cacheservers or transcoding proxies, to process request and response data.

In another variation of Step S220, plain text or XML of Text-To-Speechinstructions are converted into a Text-To-Speech (i.e., speech audio)via an HTTP request sent to a URI of a Text-To-Speech web service. Thecall router preferably constructs a URI consistent with theText-To-Speech web service when the call router determines aText-To-Speech process is needed. The call router preferably sends theURI request to the Text-To-Speech web service, and more preferably sendsit via the cache server. The call router preferably makes the requestbased on program instructions, media received from an applicationserver, or any suitable event. The HTTP request preferably includes thedesired Text-To-Speech conversion (text, voice type, speech speed,and/or any suitable setting) and the full text to be converted. The URIpreferably includes the full text to be converted. The URI mayalternatively include a fixed length cryptographic hash of the desiredconversion including the full text. The full text is preferably includedin the HTTP headers. This alternative functions to provide a unique URIfor a specified conversion but having the URI limited to a certainlength. The Text-To-Speech conversion request also preferably includes avoice selection (e.g. female, old man, child, etc.), but alternativelyif no voice is selected, a default voice may be used for the convertedspeech. In one variation, the Text-To-Speech conversion request alsoincludes a language specification to specify the language to be used forthe conversion.

Step S230 functions to send the request to a cache server. Preferably,the request for a URI is sent to a cache server over a network. StepS230 preferably includes the cache server checking if the requested URIis already cached. The cache preferably stores telephony compatiblemedia files. Telephony compatible media is preferably media in asuitable format for use with a telephony device. The media file may havepreviously been processed within the media layer prior to being cachedor have been created by an application operator in a telephonycompatible state. The telephony compatible media file and the originalmedia file (the requested media) do not necessarily share a common mediadescription and could differ in sampling frequency, bit rate, mediatype, or any suitable characteristics. For example, a video file ispreferably stored as an audio file when a telephony compatible mediafile is cached. The URI of a telephony compatible media file ispreferable cached with a persistent URI (or persistent address). Thepersistent URI functions to allow media to be requested which does notnecessarily correspond to the media returned. This is an aspect of thetransparent description of the media layer where the processing andcaching operations of the media layer are carried out without theknowledge of the call router. When a URI specifying a video media fileis requested, a telephony compatible audio file that has been cached andassociated with that persistent URI is preferably returned. The mediaparameters embedded in a URI can additionally be used to identify cachedmedia. For example, audio of a Text-To-Speech conversion is preferablycached with a media parameter describing the contents of the media, suchas a cryptographic hash or the actual text voice settings, or any otherText-To-Speech variables. If the URI has been cached and the cache isstill valid (based on an HTTP expires tag, a HEAD request to the URIresulting in a 304 “Not Modified”, or any other suitable cachemaintenance algorithm), the cached content is returned to the sender,and Steps S240 and S250 are preferably skipped. However, if the URI hasnot been cached, or the cache is determined to be invalid (e.g. due toexpiry, URI updates, etc.), then the HTTP request is preferablyforwarded to another media layer server (e.g. a transcoding proxy serverand/or a Text-To-Speech conversion server, or any other suitable serverin the media layer) or the application server for processing. Using adedicated hardware for process specific tasks functions to increaseprocessing time and improve time response. In one variation, the requestis sent to a local cache server on a local area network. In anothervariation, the request is sent to a server running locally on the deviceoriginating the call. In yet another variation, the request may be sentto multiple servers. In another variation, the request may be sent toanother cache server if the cache is partitioned or hierarchical. Thestate information from the initiated telephony session is preferablysent via HTTP POST, HTTP GET or HTTP header parameters to mimic the dataflow of a web browser. Communication between the cache and other medialayer servers (e.g., media processing servers) is preferably operated ina controlled or trusted environment (e.g., an intranet) and a non-securecommunication protocol such as HTTP is preferably used. Alternatively,the cache may use third party or external servers for storing media. Inthe case where external networks or servers are accessed, a securecommunication protocol such as HTTPS may alternatively be used.

Step S240 functions to forward the request to a media processing server.The media request is preferably processed within the media processingserver. The media processing server is preferably an audio processingserver but may be any suitable signal processing server. In a firstvariation, the media processing server is a Text-To-Speech web service.In a second variation, the media processing server is a transcodingproxy server. In a third variation, the audio processing server includesboth the Text-To-Speech web service of the first variation and thetranscoding proxy server of the second variation. The media processingserver preferably generates a telephony compatible audio file, but mayalternatively perform any suitable task. In the case where the telephonydevice is an SMS or MMS device the telephony compatible media generatemay be text or images compatible with the messaging service. Theprocessing server is preferably capable of streaming media content to adestination.

As shown in FIG. 13, the first variation of Step S240 includes the stepof converting Text-To-Speech. The text to be converted is preferablyincluded in the URI or in an HTTP header as described above, and alsopreferably includes a specification of a Text-To-Speech conversion(text, voice type, speech speed, and/or any suitable setting) as mediaparameters. The Text-To-Speech audio is preferably generated based onthe voice selected and any other suitable Text-To-Speech parameters suchas language, emotion, talking speed, G-rated, etc. The audio ispreferably generated as 8-bit PCM mono with 8 kHz bandwidth (thestandard for telephony voice communication), but may alternatively begenerated as a binary audio file such as an MP3 file, a WAV file, or anyother suitable binary audio file. The audio file is preferablytransmitted back to the cache server, but may alternatively betransmitted directly to the call router, or to a transcoding proxyserver for audio transcoding. The transmitted audio file mayadditionally be streamed to a destination location (e.g., streamed tothe cache server).

In one further variation of the first variation of Step S240, the stepof converting Text-To-Speech may be reversible (e.g. speech to text) andthe forwarded request may include a binary audio file to be converted totext. This further variation may include transmitting the converted textto a caller via SMS, email, TTY or any other suitable transmissionmedium.

One variation of the first variation of Step S240 preferably includesthe step of automatically selecting and professionally recordingfrequently used words and phrases. This variation of Step S240,preferably includes the step of determining frequently used words andphrases, where the frequently used words and phrases are preferablydefined to be words and phrases used more than a pre-specified frequencyover a period of time. The frequently used words and phrases mayalternatively be specified by an application operator. A Text-To-Speechtelephony instruction may include an API flag or any suitable mechanismindicating that the phrase should be professionally recorded. Thefrequently used words and phrases are preferably transmitted to aprofessional recording studio where the words and phrases areprofessionally recorded by a voice actor in a studio. The transmissionis preferably email, but may alternatively be an SMS message, a fax, amailed document, or any other suitable transmission. The professionalrecording may be recorded word by word, phrase by phrase, with multipleintonations, or any other suitable recording methodology. Theprofessional recording is preferably transmitted electronically to anapplication server, but may alternatively be transmitted to aText-To-Speech conversion web service, a cache server, a transcodingproxy server, a call router or any other suitable web server. Theprofessional recordings are preferably transmitted in 8-bit PCM format,but may alternatively be transmitted in WAV, MP3, or any other suitableaudio format. The return transmission of the professionally recordedaudio files is preferably an HTTP post request, but may alternatively bean FTP transfer, an email, a mailed data storage device (e.g. CD ROM,memory card or Flash Disk) or any other suitable transmission.

As shown in FIG. 14, the second variation of Step S240 includes the stepof transcoding an audio file of a URI resource on an application server.In this variation, the HTTP request is forwarded from the HTTP cacheserver to the transcoding proxy server that requests a URI from anapplication server. The transcoding proxy server additionally may use asecure protocol during communication with the application server. Thesecure protocol is preferably HTTPS, though any suitable secure protocolmay alternatively be used. The use of the secure protocol is preferablyindicated by an instruction included in the headers of the HTTP requestfrom the call router and alternatively via the HTTP cache. The secondvariation of Step S240 also includes retrieving the resource located atthe URI from the application server. Upon receipt of the resource, StepS240 includes the step of determining if the media type requiresconversion. The transcoding proxy server may additionally determine ifconversion is required or desirable for a media file by analyzing theMIME-type of a media file. The transcoding proxy server preferably usesa preconfigured MIME-type to transcode audio to another MIME-type (e.g.from 128 Kbps MP3 audio to 8-bit PCM mono with 8 kHz bandwidth fortelephony applications). Media conversion instructions, such as whichMIME-types should be converted into which other formats, may bepre-configured on the transcoding proxy server, or may be passed at thetime of the HTTP request from the call router and/or HTTP cache server.If the media type does not require conversion, the media resource issent forwarded without modification. The application server response isthen sent to the HTTP cache server for possible caching, butalternatively may be transmitted directly to a call router if needed.The transcoding proxy server may alternatively stream the resourcelocated at the URI from the application server, sending response data tothe cache server or call router as it is downloaded and/or transcoded,without waiting for the complete operation to finish.

As another variation the Step S250 may include encrypting media. Thisstep functions to cache media in a secure format. The media encryptionpreferably happens to the media file being cached. Media that is neededfor a telephony session is preferably not sent to the call routerencrypted. Either a non-encrypted telephony compatible version of themedia file is sent to the call router, or alternatively, the media fileis decrypted prior to transmitting to the call router. Step S250 mayinclude decrypting media. When decrypting media a shared key ispreferably shared between a client (application operator) and the systemadminister. However, an encrypted media file may be passed back to theclient (using the media layer API) in situations where the clientdesires to not transmit decrypted media.

Step S250, which recites caching possible server responses functions toreduce redundant data transmissions and streamline network traffic. Thisreduces bandwidth and processing resource usage and lowers the cost ofservice by enabling a larger volume of calls to be handled per computingresource unit, while improving the perceived response time for callers.Preferably, Step S250 includes caching all server responses receivedfrom application servers and servers in a media layer, such as atranscoding proxy server response, a Text-To-Speech web serviceresponse, an application server response, or any other suitable serverresponse. Step S250 preferably checks if the response is cacheable, forexample caching a common audio response delivered either as an audiofile directly from an application server, a transcoded audio file, anaudio file containing converted Text-To-Speech. Customized content (e.g.personal voice mailbox recorded messages) and private personal datafiles (e.g. bank account balances) are preferably not cached.Alternatively, the HTTP response of the application server may includecache-related directives. The cache-related directives are preferablyincluded in the HTTP headers, and include instructions for handling theURI resource. More preferably, the instruction includes whether or not aHTTP response is cacheable and/or the expiration of the URI resource(how long the URI resource remains cached on the cache server). Thecache preferably deletes the URI resource when the expiration time hasbeen reached. Alternatively the media layer API may alternatively beused for cache control. Though, any suitable cache-related directive mayalternatively be used. The cache may additionally store media on anexternal server. The external server may be operated by a third party orbe located in a remote location. The media is preferably encrypted inthis variation such media stored in uncontrolled servers does not havecompromised security. When retrieving media from the external server,the media layer may handle the decryption or alternatively pass theencrypted media onto the client such that the media layer never observesunencrypted media.

Step S260 functions to send a response. The response is preferably anaudio file or XML call flow instruction file for playback andprocessing. The response is preferably sent to the call router if thecall router originated the media request. Alternatively, the responsemay be sent to a destination specified by the media layer API,preferably the server using the media layer API. The response ispreferably sent as XML, audio binary, or raw text, but may alternativelybe any sort of messaging format, including HTML, delimited text,key/value text or binary encoded format. The response is preferably sentto the call router independently of whether or not the response iscached. This response is preferably an HTTP response. The HTTP responsepreferably includes directions to perform at least one telephony action(e.g. play this file, connect to this number, access this URI). Thetelephony compatible media file is preferably played by the call routerfor the telephony device. In one variation, the cache server streams theresponse to the call router, sending response data as it becomesavailable without waiting for the entire response. The call routerconsumes the media in a number of variations. The call router mayconsume a HTTP media stream and render the audio over the PSTN, VoIPnetwork, or any suitable network to the telephony devices. The callrouter may append the data from the media layer to a file as the databecomes available and begin rendering the media from the fileimmediately (e.g., using a first in first out FIFO abstraction). Thecall router may append from the media layer to a file as the databecomes available and start rendering the media when the stream isfinished.

3. System for Handling Telephony Sessions

As shown in FIGS. 2A, 2B, 3A, 3B, 11 and 15 a system 20 and 30 of thepreferred embodiment for handling telephony sessions includes a callrouter 22, a resource address 23 for an application server, a telephonyinstruction 27, and a call router resource 29. As shown in FIGS. 2A and2B, a first configuration 20 is initiated by a telephony device (such asa telephone call, fax or SMS message). As shown in FIGS. 3A and 3B, asecond configuration 30 is initiated by an application developer side(i.e., server 26 calling out). The telephony system of the preferredembodiment preferably additionally implements a Call Router API 28 thatincludes a Call Router API request format, a Call Router API responseformat and a plurality of resources substantially similar to thosedescribed above. The system of the preferred embodiment additionallyincludes a media layer 40 that functions as an intermediaryhardware/software layer for application media processing as shown inFIG. 11. The media layer 40 preferably includes a cache server 42 and amedia processing server 42. The media processing server 42 may include atranscoding proxy server 43, a Text-To-Speech web service 44, and/or anysuitable media processing device.

The call router 22 functions to initiate or receive calls from thetelephony device and connect to a web-application server. The callrouter 22 is preferably connected to a PSTN device over the PSTNnetwork, such that it can receive and make calls from PSTN-connecteddevices 21, such as landlines, cellular phones, satellite phones, or anyother suitable PSTN-connected devices, as well as non-PSTN devices, suchas Voice-Over-Internet-Protocol (VOIP) phones, SIP devices, Skype,Gtalk, or other Internet addressable voice devices. The call router 22may alternatively or additionally function as or include a messagerouter for use with SMS messages. The call router 22 can preferablyconnect to an SMS network, such that it can receive and send messagesfrom SMS network devices 21, cellular phones, computers, smart phones,or any suitable SMS network devices. The call router 22 may also send orreceive text messages, multimedia messages, emails, faxes and othersuitable PSTN-compatible communication messages. The call router 22preferably communicates with the application server 26 using anapplication layer protocol, more preferably using the HTTP, or secureHTTPS, protocol. The call router 22 preferably communicates with theapplication server 26 through a media layer 40 using the HTTP protocolor a secure protocol such as HTTPS. HTTP is preferably used forcommunication for devices networked through an intranet such as betweenthe call router 22 and the media layer 40 and within the media layer 40,and a HTTPS is preferably used for communicating with external serversor devices. The communication between the application server 26 and thecall router 22 is preferably stateless and any state information (e.g.,call state) or data is preferably located in a URI or the requestparameters, such as HTTP headers, GET URI parameters, POST request bodyparameters, or HTTP cookies. Available state information is preferablytransmitted by call router requests to the application server forstateless processing, and the application server preferably stores nostate. Alternatively, the application server preferably stores localstate information, such as databases or sessions, as is common in webdevelopment. The call router 22 preferably stores state information incall router resources 29. The call router resources 29 are preferablyaccessible by the application server 26 and other devices through thecall router API 28. The call router resources 29 are preferably similarto those described above. The call router 22 preferably associates eachincoming phone number with a starting resource address (or morespecifically a URI) 23, more preferably the URI 23 is provided by theapplication server 26, still more preferably the URI 23 is provided bythe application developer before a call is received at the call router22 by associating the initial URI with the incoming call address (suchas DID, SIP address, etc.) or by the application upon initiation of anoutgoing call. The call router 22 preferably sends call data such as thecaller number (obtained via Caller ID), caller geographic data (country,city, and/or state, zip) the number dialed, the time of the call, or anyother suitable information or parameter. When an HTTP communication isassociated with a media request (e.g., a file request or a mediaprocessing instruction), the associated URI 23 is preferably apersistent URI. A persistent URI functions to allow telephony compatiblemedia stored in the cache to be returned in place of the requested URI.The call data is preferably digitally signed with a secret key 25 storedon the call router 22. A cryptographic hash of the information ispreferably included along with the information as a digital signature.The call router 22 may also encrypt sensitive information (either beforeor after the cryptographic hash is computed) using the secret key toallow sensitive information to be sent across the network. The call datais preferably sent as an HTTP POST request to the application server 26.Call data may also be sent in URL (GET) variables, or encapsulated inHTTP headers. An example HTTP request containing the information in theheader is shown in FIGS. 4A and 4D. As shown in FIG. 4B, further inputs(such as voice recording or DTMF button pressing) from the PSTN-devicemay be subsequently submitted to the application server 26 as HTTPrequests (GET or POST). As shown in FIG. 4C, the inputs from a phonekeypad may be included in an HTTP GET request. As shown in FIG. 4E, thecontent of an SMS message received by the call router may be sent to theapplication server 26 as an HTTP request. As shown in FIG. 4F, theinputs from the text message are included in an HTTP GET request. Therequest data may alternatively be simultaneously sent in the URI (querystring), message body (POST) and message headers, or any combination ofthe above. The call router 22 is preferably capable of handling mediastreams received by the media layer 40. The call router 22 consumes themedia in a number of variations. The call router 22 may consume a HTTPmedia stream and render the audio over the PSTN, VoIP network, or anysuitable network to the telephony devices. The call router 22 may appendthe data from the media layer 40 to a file as the data becomes availableand begin rendering the media from the file immediately (e.g., using afirst in first out FIFO abstraction). The call router 22 may append fromthe media layer 40 to a file as the data becomes available and startrendering the media when the stream is finished.

The preferred embodiment may additionally include a media layerApplication Programming Interface (API) 50 that functions to allowprogrammatic access to the media layer 40 and in particular to the cache41. The media layer API 50 is preferably RESTful in nature but anysuitable protocol may be used. The media layer API 50 may be used forretrieving the status of a single cached resource, or alternatively aplurality of cached resources (what is cached, the date the media wascached, the file size, etc.). The media layer API 50 may additionallyretrieve such status by specifying a partial or full URL to thecanonical resource (i.e., show the cache status for the file located at:http://demo.twilio.com/foo.mp3). The media layer API 50 may additionallyremove media from the cache. The media layer API 50 may request that oneor more remote files be cached, specified as one or more URLs (ex:http://demo.twilio.com/foo.mp3) or request that that one or more remoteURL resource that contains sub-resources be cached. For example, byrequesting to cache http://demo.twilio.com/media/, the cache wouldpreferably “crawl” that directory for sub-resources linked to, and cachethose. Caching instructions such as media type, file size restrictions,modification date, or any suitable parameter may additionally be usedfor the crawling procedure. The media layer API 50 may alternatively oradditionally be used by applications for any suitable purpose. Oneexemplary use of the media layer API 50 would be to preemptively cachemedia to the media layer. Such as if an application has media that willbe commonly used or that changes on a periodic basis. Another exemplaryuse of the media layer API would be for accessing media generated duringa telephony session after the telephony session has ended.

The media layer 40 of the preferred embodiment functions to streamlineand reduce bandwidth usage. The media layer 40 preferably assigns CPU ornetwork intensive tasks to dedicated hardware to improve the perceivedresponse time for callers. The media layer 40 further functions toseparate media processing from a core router and enable improvedallocation of resources and scaling of infrastructure. The mediaprocessing is preferably transparent to the call router or otherapplications accessing the media layer 40 through the media layer API50. Here transparent indicates that the call router 22 only needs to beaware of how to handle expected media (telephony compatible media). Themedia layer 40 preferably takes care of converting the requested mediato a telephony compatible media type. Additionally, new media types canbe implemented without modifying the operation of the call router 22.The presence of the media layer 40 may also lower the cost of servingeach caller by reducing the bandwidth and computational resourcesneeded, effectively increasing the number of simultaneous call flowshandled by the call router 22 and the application server 26. The medialayer 40 preferably includes a cache server 41 and a media processingserver 42. The media processing server 42 preferably includes both atranscoding proxy server 43 and a Text-To-Speech web service 44, butalternatively, either a transcoding proxy server 43 or a Text-To-Speechweb service 44 may be solely included in the media layer. Alternativeservers or media processing devices may additionally be used. Eachserver is preferably run on an independent device, but alternatively,some or all of the servers 241, 242, and 243 in the media layer 40 mayrun on the same device. The media layer preferably includes the abilityto stream data through each component of the media layer 40 (e.g., thecache, Text-To-Speech servers, and transcoding proxy servers). Streamingfunctions to minimize the delay when media is requested through themedia layer 40. Each component of the media layer 40 is preferablycapable of accepting a block of data, performing an operation, andwriting that block out. Streaming is preferably implemented using HTTP1.1 chunked-encoding, which allows data to be added, removed, ormodified by intermediate nodes (e.g., transcoding proxy server). A loadbalancer may additionally automatically allocate or deallocate resourcesof the media layer. The load balancer (or a plurality of load balancers)preferably independently scales components based on independent usageand independent performance profiles (CPU-bound, disk-bound, etc.).Using the media layer, the stateful system components (e.g., the callrouter) are separate from the stateless components (e.g., thetranscoding proxy servers, Text-To-Speech servers, etc.). Thus thecomponents of the media layer are easily scaled for more capacity.Furthermore, because the components of the media layer communicate usingHTTP, the components may be scaled independently. Additionally, sincethe media layer may be distributed, there is greater flexibility in thephysical (hardware or software) implementation. Media layer 40components may be operated on different kinds of hardware or virtualizedresources. The components are preferably scaled automatically using theload balancer and may additionally use predictive techniques toanticipate capacity requirements. As one example, a client with a largeText-To-Speech demand may be doing high volume work. The Text-To-Speechservices may be scaled up by allocating additional Text-To-Speechservers, without the need to alter the call router 22, transcoding proxyservers, or any other system components. When anticipating/predictingcapacity requirements, the system may use usage history as an indicatorof times of day when particular capacity requirements must be met.

The cache server 41 of the media layer 40 functions to improve theresponse time to the call router 22 and improve the quality of each callflow, while reducing usage of processing and bandwidth resources. Thecache server 41 preferably accomplishes these goals by storing andre-transmitting the content of repeatedly accessed and/or processedURIs. The cache server 41 is preferably an HTTP cache server runningHTTP cache server software such as the Squid proxy cache as is wellknown in the art, but alternatively any suitable cache server softwaremay be used. The cache server 41 preferably facilitates communicationbetween the call router 22 and the application server 26 and enablesretrieval of a URI resource. The URI resource is preferably a telephonycompatible media file, and is more preferably referenced by a persistentURI. A cached URI resource is preferably not an exact copy of a mediafile, but a media file that has been previously processed within themedia layer to be telephony compatible. In the case where the originalmedia resource was in telephony compatible format, then the cachedversion may be identical to the original version. The URI of a resourcemay additionally include embedded media parameters. The media parametersfunction to uniquely distinguish cached media. For example, a cachedText-To-Speech media file can be identified by an embedded cryptographichash of the text. A HTTP request is preferably sent to the cache server41. The HTTP request preferably includes HTTP request details includingHTTP headers, POST, or query string parameters, but alternatively anysuitable communication scheme may be used for communication. The cacheserver 41 preferably checks for a valid copy of the URI resource (anon-expired copy previously retrieved during a URI request or during anysuitable time). If a valid copy is found within the cache server 41, thecache server 41 preferably responds to the call router 22 with the validcopy of the URI resource. If a valid copy is not found within the cacheserver 41, the cache server 41 preferably sends the HTTP request to theapplication server 26. The cache server may alternatively send the HTTPrequest to an intermediate server, such as the transcoding proxy server43, Text-To-Speech web service 44, or any suitable server or service.The cache server 41 may additionally or alternatively use externalservers 41′ for storing media content. Media stored on external or thirdparty servers 41′ is preferably encrypted. When returning encrypted datathe cache may decrypt the media file within the media layer prior totransmitting. In variation where encryption and decryption operationsare performed, the media layer preferably includes anencryption/decryption server 46 to handle the encryption and/ordecryption of a media file. To avoid additional processing andtransmission time for the first initiated telephony session, the systempreferably includes an application-testing program that primes the cacheserver 41 with the complete set of cacheable telephony responses, or asubset of responses such as large static media files, before a telephonysession and/or the first telephony application use. This mayalternatively, by programmatically implemented by the media layer API50. Additionally, the HTTP response of the application server 26 and/orthe transcoding proxy server 43 preferably includes cache-relateddirectives. Preferably, the cache-related directives are included in theHTTP headers, and preferably indicate whether the response may becached, and for how long a URI resource remains cached on the cacheserver 41. Such directives may alternatively be indicated in media layerAPI messages. When the URI resource reaches an expiration time, thecache server 26 preferably deletes or updates the URI resource.Alternatively, any suitable cache-related directive may be used, such asthose defined in IETF or W3C Standards including W3C RFCs 2616, 2186,2187. In one variation of the preferred embodiment, when the applicationserver content changes on a daily basis (e.g. stock prices, weatherconditions, scheduled appointments), the cache server 41 updates thecomplete set of URI resources at least one time per day, preferablyduring off-peak hours (e.g., updating schedules for the next day at 3AM).

The transcoding proxy server 43 of the media layer 40 functions toconvert audio files received from the application server 26 and optimizethe audio files for telephony applications. The transcoding proxy serverpreferably acts as an intermediary between the cache server 41 and theapplication server 26. In one variation of the preferred embodiment, thecache server 41 sends the HTTP request to the transcoding proxy server43, and the transcoding proxy server 43 preferably requests the URIresource from the application server 26. The transcoding proxy server 43preferably receives the URI resource and decides if any CPU-intensivetasks are required before returning the content to the cache server 41.In one variation, the CPU-intensive task is preferably transcoding audiofrom one format to another format (e.g., a telephony compatible format).The CPU-intensive task may alternatively be using preconfiguredMIME-types to transcode audio to another MIME-type. The MIME-type of theURI resource along with introspection of the media is preferably used ascriterion for deciding if to transcode. The CPU-intensive taskalternatively may use instructions in the HTTP request, preferably theHTTP header, to transcode audio into a specified format such as 11 Khz,8 bit mono PCM audio. Configuration parameters, HTTP instructions, orany other suitable information may additionally be used to determine iftranscoding is required or desirable. The transcoding proxy server 43may alternatively convert video files to audio, perform signalprocessing on audio, or perform any suitable media translation tasks.After any mime-type conversion, the transcoding proxy server 43preferably updates the mime-type in the response.

The audio files received from the application server 26 are preferablyMP3 files, but may alternatively be WAV, AAC, RA, MP2, WMA, or any othersuitable audio format or encoding. The transcoding proxy server 43 mayalso receive XML instructions and/or plain text information from theapplication server 26, which preferably passes the instructions and/orinformation through to the cache server 41 unmodified. The cache server41 preferably connects to the transcoding proxy server 43 using anapplication layer protocol, such as the HTTP protocol. Preferably, thetranscoding proxy server 43 connects directly to the application server26 using an application layer protocol, such as the HTTP protocol.Alternatively, the transcoding proxy server 43 uses a secure protocolthat functions to provide security during communication with theapplication server 26. The secure protocol is preferably HTTPS thoughany suitable protocol may be used. The use of a secure protocol ispreferably indicated in the HTTP header of the HTTP request from thecall router 22, and is passed through the cache server 41 to thetranscoding proxy server 43. This preferably enables HTTP requests to beused in intranet connections (internal/controlled communication, such asbetween call router 22, cache server 41, and transcoding proxy server43, where interim processing may be required) and HTTPS requests forInternet connections (external/uncontrolled communications). The use ofa secure protocol further functions to allow an application developer orsystem administrator running the application server 26 to provide anadditional level of security with respect to their web application. Asanother alternative, the transcoding proxy server 43 and cache server242 stream URI resource responses as they are downloaded, transcoded,and/or cached, without waiting for the download, transcode, and/or cacheoperation to finish. This functions to allow large URI resources (suchas large mp3 files) to begin playing before downloaded, transcoded,and/or cached entirely.

The Text-To-Speech web service 44 of the media layer 40 functions toconvert textual input into audio speech. The Text-To-Speech web service44 is preferably an independently running server, but may alternativelybe located on the same device as the other media layer devices, or mayalternatively be remotely accessible over the Internet. TheText-To-Speech web service 44 preferably receives the text to convert inan HTTP request from the call router 22 via the cache server 41. TheHTTP request preferably includes a URI representing the desiredconversion (text, voice type, speech speed, language, and/or anysuitable setting) and the full text to be converted. The URI preferablyencapsulates the full text to be converted. In another preferredvariation, the URI may have a length limitation, and the URI preferablyincludes a fixed length cryptographic hash of the desired conversionincluding the full text. The full text is preferably included in theHTTP headers. The cryptographic hash functions as a unique persistentURI for each combination of text and conversion. The text is preferablythe text that is to be converted into speech. The conversion informationpreferably includes voice type, speech speed, language, and/or anysuitable parameters for the Text-To-Speech process. The cryptographichash URI further functions to enable the cache server 41 to effectivelycache the results of a Text-To-Speech conversion. In another variation,the cryptographic hash preferably encapsulates all conversionparameters, with their cleartext values provided in the HTTP headers ofthe request. The Text-To-Speech web service 44 generates the audiospeech based on the conversion parameters from the call router 22, ormore preferably from the web cache server 41 (with HTTP headerspermitting caching). The cache server 41 preferably caches the audio forfuture reuse. In one variation, the audio resulting from theText-To-Speech conversion is preferably streamed from the Text-To-Speechweb service 44 back to the call router 22 through the cache server 41.Long audio files are preferably cached on the cache server 41 afterbeing streamed the first time.

In one variation, the Text-To-Speech web service 44 preferably automatesthe selection and professional recording of frequently used words andphrases. Frequently used words and phrases are preferably defined to bewords and phrases used more than a pre-specified frequency over a periodof time (e.g. “Transferring your call” used one-hundred times per day).The frequently used words and phrases may be determined algorithmically(e.g., based on application history or system history) or alternativelymay be specified by an application operator. Alternatively, high valuewords or phrases (e.g. phrases for marketing a brand) may beadditionally or alternatively professionally recorded. The selectedfrequently used words and phrases are preferably transmitted to a remotesite where they are professionally recorded by a voice actor in astudio. The transmission is preferably email, but may alternatively bean SMS message, a fax, a mailed document, or any other suitabletransmission. The professional recording may be recorded word by word,phrase by phrase, with multiple intonations, or any other suitablerecording methodology. The professional recording is preferablytransmitted electronically to an application server 26, but mayalternatively be transmitted to a Text-To-Speech conversion web service44, a cache server 41, a transcoding proxy server 43, a call router 22or any other suitable web server. The professional recordings arepreferably transmitted in 8-bit PCM format, but may alternatively betransmitted in WAV, MP3, or any other suitable audio format. The returntransmission of the professionally recorded audio files is preferably anHTTP post request, but may alternatively be an FTP transfer, an email, amailed data storage device (e.g. CD ROM, memory card or Flash Disk) orany other suitable transmission.

The application server 26 functions to provide data processing logic forrequests received from the call router 22. The application server 26 ispreferably connected to the call router 22 via a network 24, morepreferably via the Internet. The application server 26 is preferably athird party server operated outside of the system, but the system mayalternatively include the application server 26. The URI 23 ispreferably associated with an application server 26 or an application onan application server 26. The application server 26 preferablycommunicates with the call router 22 using an application layerprotocol, more preferably using the HTTP protocol, or more secure HTTPSprotocol. The application server 26 preferably receives HTTP requestsfrom and sends HTTP responses to the call router 22. The applicationserver 26 preferably runs on a standard stack of programming languages,hosting providers, operating systems and databases to handle HTTPrequests, as if the caller were a website visitor in a web browser. Theapplication server 26 also preferably verifies the digital signatures ofthe call data received in the requests using the secret key to compute acryptographic hash from the received information and the hash received.If the computed hash and the received hash do not match, or no hash isreceived with the request, then the application server 26 preferablydetermines the request is fraudulent, and the request is preferablydiscarded. If the computed hash and received hash match, the applicationserver 26 preferably determines that the request is authentic andproceeds further with the processing of the request. The applicationserver may alternatively choose to ignore the hash if security is notimportant. The application server preferably uses call state datacommunicated by the call router request to determine the next callrouter instructions, without requiring call state stored on theapplication server. The application server may alternatively use callstate data sent by the call router, such as the caller ID of the calleror the unique ID of the call, to reference additional or external statedata, such as rows in a database or session data stored on theapplication server.

The application server 26 preferably responds to HTTP requests receivedfrom the call router 22 by generating telephony instructions 27 for thecall router 22. The application server preferably replies to the callrouter in XML, however, any suitable machine-readable message format maybe used, including HTML, key/value pair text, delimited text or binaryencoding. The XML preferably includes the telephony instructions 27 forthe call router 22 such as connecting to another number, playing arecorded greeting, reading text, and/or requesting DTMF digit entry fromthe caller. The telephony instruction 27 may alternatively be related toSMS messaging, Multimedia Messaging Service (MMS) messaging, email, orany suitable messaging task. The telephony instruction 27 mayadditionally be used to send an outgoing SMS message, arrange a phonecall from a specific phone number, arranging for a callback, setting upa conference call (connecting multiple numbers), sending an email,interfacing with a calendar or scheduling system, purchasing goods, orservices, or any other suitable instruction. The XML instructions arepreferably a set of commands to be executed in order, one at a time(i.e., sequentially). An example XML response is shown in FIGS. 5A and5B. In single telephony session (e.g. one initiated by a PSTN-device oran SMS device) a response from an application server can initiate anoutgoing telephony call and/or a SMS message. That is, a single XMLresponse preferably provides the ability to interact with both the SMSnetwork and the voice telephony network (PSTN, SIP/VoIP, etc)sequentially or simultaneously. Media files may alternatively be sentfrom the application server 26. The application server 26 may respond toa request with an audio file, transmitting the audio file to thetranscoding proxy server 242 for conversion into 8-bit PCM at 8 kHzbandwidth suitable for telephony before sending the converted audiofile, with its new mime-type header. The media file is then preferablysent to the cache server 241 for caching and forwarded to the callrouter 22. Preferably, the cache server 241 caches the most frequentlyused or all of the responses of the application server 26 to reduce thenumber of customized responses. This enables a more efficient use ofboth the computation and the transmission bandwidth to the applicationsserver 26, effectively allowing more concurrent users to be served by asingle application server. In one variation, the application server 26may prime (or push) updated sound files to the media layer for caching.This priming is preferably done at off peak hours after new content isbeing generated or for periodic changes of an application (e.g. a newweather report). In addition, audio or video files sent to the callrouter 22 can be converted to text by an automatic speech-to-textengine, human or other technique, and sent back in text form as an SMSmessage or an attachment to an MMS. In one variation, an applicationrunning on a server may be a simple static XML page and static soundfiles, deployed on basic web servers where no development or scriptingenvironment is available. This variation preferably uses URI Templates(a current IETF proposal for HTML5), which essentially includes URLswith placeholders for variable data, like this:http://www.twilio.com/audio/{Digit}.mp3 where the call router 22 wouldsubstitute the digits pressed for the {Digit} placeholder in the URITemplate, GET the file at the resulting URI, and play the static soundfile in response. This allows an entire application to be authoredoffline in a What-You-See-Is-What-You-Get (WYSIWYG) html editor. Forexample, if the server response specifies the URI Template:http://demo.twilio.com/myapp/{Digits}.mp3, and the caller presses digits1234, the call router 22 would GET the static mp3 file located at:http://demo.twilio.com/myapp/1234.mp3 and play it to the caller. Thevariables used for substitution in the URI Templates preferablycorrespond to the names of variables defined for state submission inHTTP GET, POST and/or header requests from the call router. From theprevious example, {Digits} would be associated with a parameter named“Digits” that is preferably generated as a result of a “gather”telephony instruction (collection of DTMF digits). In the preferredembodiment for the second configuration, the call is initiated by theapplication server 26 (through the call router 22), and the secondconfiguration 30 is substantially similar to the first configuration 20,such that the call routing is preferably handled identically to anincoming call, namely via URI requests from call router 22 to the server26 upon call state changes. The application server preferablyadditionally is able to make calls to the Call Router API as describedabove.

As a person skilled in the art will recognize from the previous detaileddescription and from the figures and claims, modifications and changescan be made to the preferred embodiments of the invention withoutdeparting from the scope of this invention defined in the followingclaims. It is possible, and indeed hoped, that additional applicationswill be designed and built upon this technology platform (the preferredmethod and/or system of the invention) that would not otherwise bepossible using conventional telephony platforms.

We claim:
 1. A method comprising: receiving, by a telephony platform, afirst media request to access a first media item in relation to a firsttelephony session, the first media request initiated by a firstapplication utilizing communication services provided by the telephonyplatform, the first media request including a specified UniversalResource Identifier (URI); determining whether the specified URIcorresponds to any cached media resources stored in a cache memory ofthe telephony platform, each cached media resource being a copy of apreviously requested media item formatted into a compatible format fortelephony sessions facilitated by the telephony platform; in response todetermining that the specified URI does not correspond to any of thecached media resources stored in the cache memory of the telephonyplatform, transmitting a request for the first media item to a mediaserver identified by the specified URI; in response to receiving thefirst media item from the media server, converting the first media iteminto the compatible format and storing a copy of the first media itemconverted into the compatible format in the cache memory of thetelephony platform, yielding a first cached media resource, the firstcached media resource being associated with the specified URI; andforwarding the first media item converted into the compatible format toa call router to provide the first media item in relation to the firstthe telephony session.
 2. The method of claim 1, further comprising:receiving a second media request to access the first media item inrelation to a second telephony session, the second media requestincluding the specified URI; determining whether the specified URIcorresponds to any cached media resources stored in the cache memory ofthe telephony platform; determining that the specified URI correspondsto the first cached media resource in the cache memory of the telephonyplatform; and forwarding the first cached media resource to the callrouter to provide the first media item in relation to the secondtelephony session.
 3. The method of claim 2, further comprising: inresponse to determining that the specified URI corresponds to the firstcached media resource in the cache memory of the telephony platform,determining whether the first cached media resource is valid, the firstcached media resource being forwarded to the call router in response todetermining that the first cached media resource is valid.
 4. The methodof claim 3, wherein determining whether the first cached media resourceis valid comprises: determining an amount of time that has elapsed afterthe first cached media resource was stored in the cache memory of thetelephony platform; and comparing the amount of time to a thresholdamount of time.
 5. The method of claim 1, further comprising: receivinga second media request to access the first media item in relation to asecond telephony session, the second media request including thespecified URI; determining that the specified URI corresponds to thefirst cached media resource in the cache memory of the telephonyplatform; and determining that the first cached media resource is notvalid; in response to determining that the first cached media resourceis not valid, transmitting a subsequent request for the first media itemto the media server identified by the specified URI; converting thefirst media item into the compatible format and storing an updated copyof the first media item converted into the compatible format in thecache memory of the telephony platform, yielding an updated first cachedmedia resource, the updated first cached media resource being associatedwith the specified URI; and forwarding the first media item convertedinto the compatible format to a call router to provide the first mediaitem in relation to the second the telephony session.
 6. The method ofclaim 5, further comprising: receiving a third media request to accessthe first media item in relation to a third telephony session, the thirdmedia request including the specified URI; determining whether thespecified URI corresponds to any cached media resources stored in thecache memory of the telephony platform; determining that the specifiedURI corresponds to the updated first cached media resource in the cachememory of the telephony platform; and forwarding the updated firstcached media resource to the call router to provide the first media itemin relation to the third telephony session.
 7. The method of claim 6,further comprising: in response to determining that the specified URIcorresponds to the updated first cached media resource in the cachememory of the telephony platform, determining whether the updated firstcached media resource is valid, the updated first cached media resourcebeing forwarded to the call router in response to determining that theupdated first cached media resource is valid.
 8. A telephony platformcomprising: one or more computer processors; and one or morecomputer-readable mediums storing instructions that, when executed bythe one or more computer processors, cause the telephony platform toperform operations comprising: receiving a first media request to accessa first media item in relation to a first telephony session, the firstmedia request initiated by a first application utilizing telephonyservices provided by the telephony platform, the first media requestincluding a specified Universal Resource Identifier (URI); determiningwhether the specified URI corresponds to any cached media resourcesstored in a cache memory of the telephony platform, each cached mediaresource being a copy of a previously requested media item formattedinto a compatible format for telephony sessions facilitated by thetelephony platform; in response to determining that the specified URIdoes not correspond to any of the cached media resources stored in thecache memory of the telephony platform, transmitting a request for thefirst media item to a media server identified by the specified URI; inresponse to receiving the first media item from the media server,converting the first media item into the compatible format and storing acopy of the first media item converted into the compatible format in thecache memory of the telephony platform, yielding a first cached mediaresource, the first cached media resource being associated with thespecified URI; and forwarding the first media item converted into thecompatible format to a call router to provide the first media item inrelation to the first the telephony session.
 9. The telephony platformof claim 8, the operations further comprising: receiving a second mediarequest to access the first media item in relation to a second telephonysession, the second media request including the specified URI;determining whether the specified URI corresponds to any cached mediaresources stored in the cache memory of the telephony platform;determining that the specified URI corresponds to the first cached mediaresource in the cache memory of the telephony platform; and forwardingthe first cached media resource to the call router to provide the firstmedia item in relation to the second telephony session.
 10. Thetelephony platform of claim 9, the operations further comprising: inresponse to determining that the specified URI corresponds to the firstcached media resource in the cache memory of the telephony platform,determining whether the first cached media resource is valid, the firstcached media resource being forwarded to the call router in response todetermining that the first cached media resource is valid.
 11. Thetelephony platform of claim 10, wherein determining whether the firstcached media resource is valid comprises: determining an amount of timethat has elapsed after the first cached media resource was stored in thecache memory of the telephony platform; and comparing the amount of timeto a threshold amount of time.
 12. The telephony platform of claim 8,the operations further comprising: receiving a second media request toaccess the first media item in relation to a second telephony session,the second media request including the specified URI; determining thatthe specified URI corresponds to the first cached media resource in thecache memory of the telephony platform; and determining that the firstcached media resource is not valid; in response to determining that thefirst cached media resource is not valid, transmitting a subsequentrequest for the first media item to the media server identified by thespecified URI; converting the first media item into the compatibleformat and storing an updated copy of the first media item convertedinto the compatible format in the cache memory of the telephonyplatform, yielding an updated first cached media resource, the updatedfirst cached media resource being associated with the specified URI; andforwarding the first media item converted into the compatible format toa call router to provide the first media item in relation to the secondthe telephony session.
 13. The telephony platform of claim 12, theoperations further comprising: receiving a third media request to accessthe first media item in relation to a third telephony session, the thirdmedia request including the specified URI; determining whether thespecified URI corresponds to any cached media resources stored in thecache memory of the telephony platform; determining that the specifiedURI corresponds to the updated first cached media resource in the cachememory of the telephony platform; and forwarding the updated firstcached media resource to the call router to provide the first media itemin relation to the third telephony session.
 14. The telephony platformof claim 13, the operations further comprising: in response todetermining that the specified URI corresponds to the updated firstcached media resource in the cache memory of the telephony platform,determining whether the updated first cached media resource is valid,the updated first cached media resource being forwarded to the callrouter in response to determining that the updated first cached mediaresource is valid.
 15. A non-transitory computer-readable medium storinginstructions that, when executed by one or more computer processors of atelephony platform, cause the telephony platform to perform operationscomprising: receiving a first media request to access a first media itemin relation to a first telephony session, the first media requestinitiated by a first application utilizing telephony services providedby the telephony platform, the first media request including a specifiedUniversal Resource Identifier (URI); determining whether the specifiedURI corresponds to any cached media resources stored in a cache memoryof the telephony platform, each cached media resource being a copy of apreviously requested media item formatted into a compatible format fortelephony sessions facilitated by the telephony platform; in response todetermining that the specified URI does not correspond to any of thecached media resources stored in the cache memory of the telephonyplatform, transmitting a request for the first media item to a mediaserver identified by the specified URI; in response to receiving thefirst media item from the media server, converting the first media iteminto the compatible format and storing a copy of the first media itemconverted into the compatible format in the cache memory of thetelephony platform, yielding a first cached media resource, the firstcached media resource being associated with the specified URI; andforwarding the first media item converted into the compatible format toa call router to provide the first media item in relation to the firstthe telephony session.
 16. The non-transitory computer-readable mediumof claim 15, the operations further comprising: receiving a second mediarequest to access the first media item in relation to a second telephonysession, the second media request including the specified URI;determining whether the specified URI corresponds to any cached mediaresources stored in the cache memory of the telephony platform;determining that the specified URI corresponds to the first cached mediaresource in the cache memory of the telephony platform; and forwardingthe first cached media resource to the call router to provide the firstmedia item in relation to the second telephony session.
 17. Thenon-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 16, the operationsfurther comprising: in response to determining that the specified URIcorresponds to the first cached media resource in the cache memory ofthe telephony platform, determining whether the first cached mediaresource is valid, the first cached media resource being forwarded tothe call router in response to determining that the first cached mediaresource is valid.
 18. The non-transitory computer-readable medium ofclaim 17, wherein determining whether the first cached media resource isvalid comprises: determining an amount of time that has elapsed afterthe first cached media resource was stored in the cache memory of thetelephony platform; and comparing the amount of time to a thresholdamount of time.
 19. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim15, the operations further comprising: receiving a second media requestto access the first media item in relation to a second telephonysession, the second media request including the specified URI;determining that the specified URI corresponds to the first cached mediaresource in the cache memory of the telephony platform; and determiningthat the first cached media resource is not valid; in response todetermining that the first cached media resource is not valid,transmitting a subsequent request for the first media item to the mediaserver identified by the specified URI; converting the first media iteminto the compatible format and storing an updated copy of the firstmedia item converted into the compatible format in the cache memory ofthe telephony platform, yielding an updated first cached media resource,the updated first cached media resource being associated with thespecified URI; and forwarding the first media item converted into thecompatible format to a call router to provide the first media item inrelation to the second the telephony session.
 20. The non-transitorycomputer-readable medium of claim 19, the operations further comprising:receiving a third media request to access the first media item inrelation to a third telephony session, the third media request includingthe specified URI; determining whether the specified URI corresponds toany cached media resources stored in the cache memory of the telephonyplatform; determining that the specified URI corresponds to the updatedfirst cached media resource in the cache memory of the telephonyplatform; and forwarding the updated first cached media resource to thecall router to provide the first media item in relation to the thirdtelephony session.